Ofcom revealed the full extent of the problem for the first time via the results of a detailed investigation into what could have been a “life-and-death” matter.
It said BT was “ill-prepared to respond to a catastrophic failure” which struck on Sunday, 25 June 2023 and ended up lasting for almost 11 hours.
The investigation found that “a network fault” meant nearly 14,000 call attempts made by 12,392 different callers were unsuccessful. The outage ran from 6.24am to 4.56pm.
Ofcom’s director of enforcement, Suzanne Carter, said: “BT fell woefully short of its responsibilities and was ill-prepared to deal with such a largescale outage.
“Being able to contact the emergency services can mean the difference between life and death, so in the event of any disruption to their networks, providers must be ready to respond quickly and effectively.
This story is from the July 22, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the July 22, 2024 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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